Photo: James Harrison Rogers
The morning of September 9, 2020, a woman called the Fresno Police Department; she was following her father’s stolen gray Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. The driver, she told police, was an adult male, driving westbound on Bullard Avenue towards Maroa Avenue.
The caller remained on the phone with dispatch updating the suspect’s location as they drove near Bullard High School. As officers were on their way, the woman reported the suspect crashed into another car then into a building on the intersection of Palm and Browning before running from the scene on foot.
Deputies of the Fresno Sheriff’s Office reached the scene moments before Fresno PD. The Volkswagen SUV the suspect crashed into was smashed. Aid was provided to the female driver before she was transported to the Community Regional Medical Center for her serious but not life threatening injuries. The stolen Chevy Silverado the suspect crashed into the building was on fire. The fire was controlled before it could spread to the building and caused more damage or threat to life.
As team members of several agencies worked on making the scene safe, officers and deputies searched for the suspect. 37-year old James Harrison Rogers was found hiding in a trash can near the accident. He surrendered without resistance. He was treated at the hospital for minor injuries he sustained during the collision.
Rogers is no stranger to the Fresno Police Department. Just last month he was placed on the Fresno PD’s Valley Crime Bulletin for his involvement in a grand theft case at Kohl’s Department Store. He will face charges from that incident in addition to being arrested for this felony hit and run and auto theft.
